Denver Post Prepares to Hire Democratic Public Relations Flack

The Denver Post is considering bringing on long-time Democratic operative Laura Chapin as a political columnist, according to a local communications consultant who was told of the plan. Michelle Balch Lyng, a strategic communications expert, was told by Denver Post editorial staff that Chapin was in the running for the position.

Chapin, who previously worked as a speechwriter for Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter and as the communications director for failed Democratic mayoral candidate Chris Romer, was featured as a guest columnist for the Post on Tuesday in what appeared to be a trial run for the columnist position. Her column — entitled “Is there a GOP obsession with lady parts?” — used the controversial remarks of Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, a Republican, to attack pro-life individuals who believe that life begins at conception and should be protected.

Denver Post Considers Democratic Operative as New Colunmist

“If there’s one thing that confounds Republicans these days, it’s lady parts,” Chapin wrote. “They don’t understand them, but they must control them.”

The Denver Post did not run any columns that day presenting an opposing view or defending the pro-life perspective. According to a Gallup poll released in May of 2012, “Americans now tilt ‘pro-life’ by [a] nine-point margin, 50% to 41%.” The same poll showed that the percentage of Americans who self-identified as being “pro-choice” hit a record low of 41 percent.

The lady parts piece was not Chapin’s first effort for the Post, though. After Paul Ryan, a practicing Catholic, was selected as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee, Chapin complained in the Post about Ryan’s views on abortion. She concluded her piece by asserting that Ryan also wished to “shred the social safety net.”

According to her LinkedIn profile page, Chapin has worked in a variety of positions for Democrats throughout the country. She worked for the Michigan Democratic Coordinated Campaign, Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, and Sen. Shelley Berkley of Nevada. Chapin also worked in the media and communications departments of the liberal Environmental Working Group and the Trial Lawyers Association of America, as well as in the Democratic communications shop for the Colorado House.